Treading Softly - Environmentally considerate living in a rural english home and garden

Wildlife sighted at The Cottage

From about 1996, handwritten lists of the wildlife sightings in the garden and meadow were kept, mainly of the trees, shrubs and butterflies. As wildlife record-keeping continued over the years, so handwritten lists were converted into spreadsheets in the early 'noughties' and they in turn were converted into a database in 2007.

By 2012 the list of species of both plants and creatures that have been present has reached 456 and there are still many more yet to be found and identified. The full list is linked below, but in summary the main groups identified between 1996 - 2012 are:

8 species of Mammal 3 species of Mollusc 2 species of Snake 139 species of Moth 2 species of Lizard 1 species of Frog 6 species of Fly 21 species of Butterfly 21 species of Bug and Beetle 48 species of Bird 1 species of Aphid 7 species of Bee and Wasp 3 species of Spider 15 species of Grass 25 species of Trees and Shrubs 130 species of Wildflower

A benefit of the database was that it could be used to record further sightings in other areas of the village and now some 10 areas of wildlife have been surveyed and recorded and shared on the village website. In total, we have so far identified about 608 wildlife species in the village (including our own 456 at the Cottage).

See Wildlife Videos